Page 80 of In Her Eyes

I freeze.And on the floor, Ava’s eyes go wide. I know I locked the door. The chief also has the code, but not the updated one. Even so, I never imagined he’d just walk in.

“Chief?”

He pushes off the door and comes to stand next to my desk and gets a full view of Ava sitting on the floor—evidence bag in her hands.

He narrows his eyes at her and then looks back at me. His glare like a punch to the jaw. “You can start talking any time now, Knox. I’m dying to hear what you have to say.” His Southern drawl gets thicker with his annoyance.

I swallow, look at Ava on the floor and back at my boss. When I open my mouth, nothing comes out. I can’t betray her. And I have no idea how to explain what we’re doing. He can see a lie a mile away. There’s no excuse or lie that could convince him.

He hooks both thumbs in his belt loops and rocks on his heels. The casual stance makes him look even more menacing. One wrong word and my job is gone. “Still waiting.”

Ava hands the evidence bag to me. She stands up, wipes her hand on her shorts, and holds it out to the chief. “I don’t think we’ve been formally introduced. I’m Ava.”

I want to shrink away and hide like a little kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar, but Ava doesn’t flinch.

He takes her hand, shakes it, then lets go. “Chief Malone. I’ve heard a lot about you and your frequent visits to my detective. And since he seems to have lost his ability to speak at the moment, perhaps you can explain what you’re doing here and why you are touchingmyevidence bags.”

Ava gives me a quick look, and I want to shake my head to stop her from saying anything, but I’m still frozen under the chief’s glare. Only one man who scares me, and he’s standing three feet away from me and about to rip me a new one.

But Ava takes it all in stride. She’s calmer than I expected, given the circumstances. A flashback to the first day we met and her telling me she dealt with much bigger assholes than me comes to mind. And right now, I believe her.

She shrugs. “Well, Chief, I could tell you, but that would be a breach of confidentiality. Being a man of the law, I’m sure you understand.”

“Oh, I understand all about the law and confidentiality. I was a criminal lawyer before I was a cop. And one thing I’ve learned in all my years, and believe me, Miss Ava, it’s been a lot of years, there’re only two sides to the law. The right side and the wrong side. There’s only one way this can play out in your favor.”

Ava crosses her arms and tilts her head up. “Yeah? And what way is that?”

“You can tell me the truth, or I can throw you in a nice little cell out back. You probably won’t mind since you like to visit so often.”

She tilts her head to one side and then the other like she’s giving it serious thought. “You could do that. Throw me in that jail cell. But we both know you have nothing to hold me over, and my lawyer would get me out in an hour or two. Just a lot of paperwork no one wants to deal with.”

The chief smiles, and I swear he’s enjoying the verbal sparring with Ava. “You got me there, and God knows I hate paperwork. That’s why I quit being a lawyer. Just too much paperwork.”

“I hear you’re a damn good chief, so it was for the best.”

“Yeah, but see, now we are at an impasse. I don’t like not knowing what’s happening in my house right under my nose. And maybe I can’t throw you in jail or scare you into talking. But I sure can hurt your friend here.” He nods in my direction, and for the first time, doubt crosses Ava’s face. The chief latches on it like a leech, and he’ll suck every bit of information out of her.

I try to intervene. “Chief, let her go. I take full responsibility.”

“Oh, you will. But first, I want to know what the hell is going on.”

Ava sighs and looks at me. In that moment, I know she’ll tell him everything. To protect me. She’ll sacrifice her secrets for me. “No, Ava, you don’t have to do this.”

The chief raises a hand. “Hush, boy.”

She keeps her gaze on me. “It’s okay, Jake. I mean, if I can’t trust the chief of police, who can I trust?”

She steps toward me and takes the evidence bag with the shoe from my hands. She wobbles, and I reach for her, but she puts a hand up and closes her eyes. Shit. She’s having another vision, and the chief is getting a front-row seat for it.

She opens her eyes and fixes her gaze on me. “I need a map. I know where he dumped Alice’s body.”

I make eye contact with my boss, and for the first time ever, I see surprise on his face.

He takes half a step back. “Your informant is a fucking psychic? You hired a fucking psychic?”

“No, I didn’t hire her. It’s not like that.”

He pounces on me. “You? Of all people—”

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